Courses

Finance

5001. Financial Analysis
and Strategy (3 s.h.)

Prerequisite: ACCT 5001 and STAT 5001.

This course develops the conceptual framework that is used
in analyzing the financial management problems of business
enterprises. Students cover concepts such as the time
value of money, the cost of capital, the relationship between
risk and return, the valuation of assets such as stocks and
bonds, and various corporate finance issues, including capital
budgeting, capital structure, corporate financing, and dividend
policy.

5101. Fixed Income Analysis (3
s.h.) Prerequisite: FIN 5001.

This course provides a theoretical and practical analysis of the spot markets for money, bonds, and other fixed income instruments. Topics include money market instruments, duration and convexity of bonds, yields, default risk, the term structure of interest rates, interest rate volatility, financial risk management of bond portfolios, and securitization. Students are assigned a project that involves financial decision making and real data analysis.

The objectives of the course are to examine the financial services industry and to apply the fundamental concepts of financial risk management in understanding the decision-making process of this industry. First, the general environment, structure, and recent trends in banking are examined to provide a suitable background. Second, the nature and the industry structure of non-bank financial services firms, such as mutual funds and investment banking firms, are studied. Third, the sources of risk, measurement of risk, and risk management techniques and issues are studied. Risk categories considered include interest rates, credit, off-balance-sheet, operational, and liquidity.

5103. Financial Risk Management (3 s.h.)

Prerequisite: FIN 5121.

This course explores enterprise-wide risk management solutions for key financial risks, including market, credit, and regulatory risks and their related operational control mechanisms.

5104. Advanced Corporate Finance (3 s.h.)

Prerequisite: FIN 5001.

This course builds on the core M.B.A. finance course to develop the critical skills and the analytical tools necessary to apply financial theory to real-world situations. The theme of this course is corporate valuation and how corporate decision making impacts firm value. Four broad topics are covered in this course: cost-of-capital estimation and cash flow estimation; capital structure and dividend policies from the perspective of their impact on firm value; the use of real-option techniques in valuing corporate assets; and mergers and acquisitions, including bidding, takeover defenses, and golden parachutes.

This course examines the framework and specific models used to evaluate interest rate options. The objective of the course is to give students a practical understanding of the pricing and risk management of fixed income derivative portfolios.

5108. Derivatives (3 s.h.) Prerequisite: FIN 5001.

This course provides students with a basic knowledge of the futures, options, and other derivative markets, their market structure, theoretical foundation, and the derivative strategies of both speculators and hedgers.

5109. Investments (3
s.h.) Prerequisite: FIN 5001.

This course provides an understanding of the theory of investments and introduces the tools and techniques used in investment management. Topics include portfolio theory; equilibrium models of security prices, including the capital asset pricing model and arbitrage pricing theory; empirical behavior of security prices; market efficiency; performance evaluation; and fixed-income markets.

5111. Mergers and Acquisitions (3 s.h.)

Prerequisite: FIN 5001.

This course examines the integration of various business disciplines in the value creation process. The primary focus is on the strategic and financial management decisions of the buyer and seller in an M&A transaction. A comprehensive case study is analyzed by student teams, which leads to a mock board presentation at the end of the semester.

This course provides broad coverage of how rapidly growing firms obtain their necessary financing. The course is divided into four segments. In the first, the structure of the private equity market is examined with a focus on participants, instruments, controls, and valuation. In the second, the participants in this market are examined primarily through guest speakers that include venture capitalists, venture bankers, and investment bankers. The third segment involves student analysis of approximately four cases. The final segment involves a student team project that evaluates a "live" proposal submitted by a firm for private equity funding and makes a final recommendation.

5170. Special Topics - Finance (3 s.h.)

Prerequisite: FIN 5001.

This special topics course analyzes an emerging issue or provides specialized content that is not covered in regular semester courses.

5180. Special Topics - Finance (3 s.h.)

Prerequisite: FIN 5001.

This special topics course analyzes an emerging issue or provides specialized content that is not covered in regular semester courses.

Special study is undertaken in a particular aspect of finance under the direct
supervision of an appropriate graduate faculty member. No more
than six semester hours of independent study may be counted
toward degree requirements.

5190. Special Topics - Finance (3 s.h.)

Prerequisite: FIN 5001.

This special topics course analyzes an emerging issue or provides specialized content that is not covered in regular semester courses.

Special study is undertaken in a particular aspect of finance under the direct
supervision of an appropriate graduate faculty member. No more
than six semester hours of independent study may be counted
toward degree requirements.

This course presents the theory, operation, and structure of international financial markets and institutions. Topics include international monetary systems, foreign exchange theory, international banking and money markets, and international monetary policy.

5502. International
Financial Management (3 s.h.)

Prerequisite: FIN 5001.

This course examines how access and exposure to different currency, country, and market environments can affect the financial and investment decisions of the firm. The course extends closed-economy financial management to the international market environment. Major topics include the relationship between foreign exchange and other financial variables; measurement and management of the exchange risk exposure of the firm; international investment decisions by firms and investors; and financing the global operations of firms.

This course promotes an understanding of the global financial institutions through which businesses today must raise capital and operate. Students analyze how recent technological and structural changes in commercial banking, investment banking, and other institutions impact corporations. The bottom line is that students are better able to assess the risks and opportunities in current global financial markets for equity, debt, and a variety of derivative instruments.

In this course, students sharpen their skills in analyzing and valuing both public and private enterprises, as well as techniques for assessing the desirability of adding new assets. They examine traditional discounted cash flow and comparable methods applied to both “old” and “new” economy firms. Students also study the financial issues associated with mergers and acquisitions, financial restructuring, option-based compensation, and taking a company public.

Special study is undertaken in a particular aspect of finance under the direct supervision of an appropriate graduate faculty member. No more than six semester hours of independent study may be counted toward degree requirements.

5890. Special Topics - Finance (3 s.h.)

Prerequisite: Limited to EMBA cohort only.

This special topics course analyzes an emerging issue or provides specialized content that is not covered in regular semester courses.

9001. Financial Theory I

This course is a rigorous introduction to the fundamental concepts and techniques used in modern financial economic research. Topics include individual investment decisions under uncertainty, stochastic dominance, mean-variance portfolio analysis, various equilibrium and arbitrage pricing models, and option pricing. Upon completion of this course, students are expected to acquire a clear understanding of the major theoretical results concerning individuals' consumption and portfolio decisions under uncertainty and their implications for the valuations of securities.

9002. Financial Theory II

This course covers a wide variety of topics in corporate finance, including agency theory, capital structure, signaling, executive compensation, ownership structure, boards of directors, corporate control, diversification, venture capital, financial distress, and dividend policy. The analysis is both theoretical and empirical and is based on papers from the leading journals in finance, economics, and accounting. The principal aim of the course is to prepare students to conduct empirical research in corporate finance.

9003. Banking and Financial Institutions

This course covers a variety of topics on financial institutions and, in particular, the banking enterprise. Emphasis is on empirical papers. The aim is to prepare students to read the literature critically and to strengthen their independent research skills. Subjects include uniqueness of banks, exposure to interest and exchange rate risks, product diversification, contagion, market and regulatory discipline, and others.

9004. Seminar - International Finance

This course introduces students to the basic literature in international finance and to selected advanced topics in this area. The aim is to prepare students to read the literature critically, strengthen their independent research skills, and help them be ready to select a research topic in global finance.